Customer Reviews

Schwinn 820p Treadmill

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Consumer Reports recently rated treadmills, and this model was picked as their "best buy." I have no idea why, as it is a piece of junk.

Points to note:

1. Shaking

Although assembled correctly, this treadmill shakes. The faster the speed, the more it shakes. At only 3.5 mph, my water bottle begins to move back and forth in the holder. At 4 mph, it goes flying off. There is also a ridge for placing a book, but I don't see how anyone could read with a book jerking all over the place. There is nothing that can be made any tighter to stop the shaking.

2. Bucking

The second time I used the treadmill, the belt would suddenly buck forward for no reason. I now have to hold on for dear life so that I don't fall when it bucks. The manual gives you a few tips for dealing with this problem, but they don't work.

3. Malfunctioning Heart Monitor

The grip heart rate monitor doesn't work correctly. It just arbitrarily gives you a heart rate of its own choosing. During a workout it might say 150, then 80 bpm a few seconds later.

4. Short in Height

I'm of average height for a woman (5'5") and I can grip the handrails with my arms fully extended straight down. A taller person would not be able to grip the handrails without bending over. Also, a book placed on the book rest would be pretty far away for a tall person to read comfortably.

5. Hard Surface

This treadmill boasts "Strike Zone deck cushioning, which is kind on your joints in your lift-off and landing motions (while also absorbing shock)." I'm not sure what they're talking about, as the deck surface is so hard it's like walking on concrete.

6. Huge packaging

I uploaded a picture to show the size of the box. It's huge. Set-up and delivery was not an option when I ordered this. In fact, the delivery company would only deliver to the front porch. The deliveryman was kind enough to bring the 220 pound package inside for me, but you might not be so lucky. And getting it to the basement was still a problem. This could only be accomplished by removing the packaging--which then meant the treadmill was mine forever, as it couldn't be sent back. Even so, it was not an easy task to transport it.

All in all, I can't believe I wasted $1300 on this inferior product. I don't recommend it to anyone.

Edit: About 6 months after I wrote this review, I was contacted by someone from Nautilus. (Note: this was only AFTER Amazon secured my permission to pass on my personal information). He explained that he was sorry I didn't like the treadmill, as I had obviously gotten a lemon. As a gesture of goodwill, he offered to ship me another treadmill FREE OF CHARGE. Since I didn't care for the Schwinn 820p treadmill, he sent me a Bowflex instead. It arrived at my door a few weeks later and I love it. I did not have to return the first treadmill. I was impressed by Nautilus' customer service, as they were under no obligation to send me anything, and they did so based only on a review on Amazon. A+ for them.

I also bought this because it was the Consumer Reports "Best Buy," and I expected to get a lot of use out of it. The frame broke on my first (I weigh 175 and run about 30 miles per week) after about 1100 miles, and its replacement just died after only 350 miles. So far I've paid about a dollar a mile. I'll never buy from Schwinn again.

The railings on the Schwinn 820p did not line up with the screw holes on the frame by several inches! It was impossible to assemble.

With any quality control at all, these measurements are checked on every item that leaves the factory. Human error is then not a factor. This is a defect that should never happen. Schwinn/Nautilus has zero quality control. That is simply a fact of the most basic quality control standards.

You are therefore definitely taking your chances with this or any other Schwinn or Nautilus product. With zero quality control, no telling what else can prove to be wrong.

And though the warranty says "1 year on parts", the warranty then goes on to say that there will be a charge for the installation of any defective or replaced parts. So what is the 1 year warranty on labor? Nothing, obviously.

I wish I never had purchased this product, myself.

The treadmill is wonderful except for one tiny pre-installed nut in the console. However, the Nautilus folks initially said they would have to replace the entire console, rather than supply one nut. Then they said I should return the treadmill.
Amazon.com was even less helpful. They never responded to my email.
The treadmill itself is excellent, but this experience now makes me wary of ever again purchasing a big-ticket item from Amazon.

I am very happy with my purchase. The treadmill runs smoothly and the controls are easy to use. The preset programs make my workout easy. Readouts are easy to see. This has taken the drudgery out of my workout program

Well, I have had this 820P for 4 years now and I have had no issues at all with it. I run regularly and walk up-hill (incline to 15 degrees) and have no complaints. I have put this thing through the ringer.

The Schwinn 820p has been used by me for walking and by my husband for running (when he couldn't get outside) for five years, and it works well. The belt must be lubricated every few months, but that's simple. We use a mat under the treadmill, and it has a smooth, solid feel as it runs. The handrails are high enough for me, which was a big issue with many other treadmill models, and the bed is long enough that I have never hit the end. There are not a lot of preprogrammed routes and such, just a few, but for the price it's an excellent basic treadmill. I usually stay at or below 4 mph because I walk, but my husband has used it up to 10 mph and the incline goes up to 15% in 1% increments. Has a heart-rate monitor built in to the handholds.

I wish I would have read the reviews on amazon before I bought my wife this "consumer reports best buy".

1. The overall product stability is amazingly poor. Even at low speeds it feels like its going to shake apart, despite the fact that each and every possible joint is put together as tight as possible.

2. The noise that this machine produces is second to none. As my wife runs on the machine it sounds like the house is being attacked by a squadron of bombers. My wife is a fitness nut coming in at around 125 lbs, which is hardly enough weight to cause a fitness product to feel as if it is going to burst apart at any given moment. Again, all of the screws/bolts/etc. are connected as tight as possible.

3. And then we have the cup Holders... Anyone brave enough to put any unsealed liquids in the cup holders must be using this machine on a floor where spills don't matter. They are far to shallow to hold any average sized beverage (sealed or not) and those that are short and wide enough to fit snug in the cup holder will surely burst free of their holder as the user passes around 5mph.

4. Our neighbor bought a treadmill from Sams for almost $500 less and it is quieter, much more stable, and the cup holders are deep enough to hold most drinks without fear of it spilling all over.

5. I noticed that another user said that the hand rails are too short. I happen to agree. I am 5"10, my wife is 5"9 and we both have to be rather close to the front of the unit to use the hand rails, otherwise we tend to lean over to grip them. They should be adjustable.

6. The cost of the maintenance products are way too expensive for what comes in the box (Lube-N-Walk kit).

All in all, I am glad Schwinn took this product off the market however it makes me wonder what kind of drugs the reviewers at Consumer Reports were on when they wrote that "Best Buy" review... or how much money Schwinn paid the reviewer to get that rating. I've used 2-3 other treadmills on that review, all of which Consumer Reports rated lower, yet in my opinion they were all far superior in every way to the Schwinn 820p.

7. On the Plus side the incline feature seems to work well on the 820p.